by Mariam Nundu

Created on: July 21, 2008   Last Updated: March 11, 2009

The smoking ban is part of the on going mission by the U.K government to reduce the number of smokers estimated at 26% of the adult population to 21% by 2010. The ban, introduced in July 2007, makes it illegal for anyone to smoke in any enclosed public area in England and Wales. Thus following the example of Scotland, which had introduced the bad in the spring of 2006. Is the smoking ban working in the U.K? Will the government meet its target?

The figures so far seem to indicate that the smoking ban is a success. It's estimated that the number of adult smokers has dropped by 2% since the introduction of the ban. Indeed the NHS (National Health Service) has reported higher number of smokers joining the smoking programmes and even higher numbers of those who have successfully quit. It seems that the combination of the ban and the anti-smoking adverts have finally forced smokers to quit the habit. This is of course true but perhaps the biggest contributing factor to the success of the ban so far has been the change of attitude towards smoking/smokers by the general public. Those who smoke find themselves isolated and under pressure to quit. Gone are the days when companies provided 'smoking rooms' for their smoker employees. Whether they are at work or on a night out smokers are no longer allowed a safe heaven to indulge in their habit resorting to standing in hidden corners outside buildings at the mercy of the English weather. The increasingly vivid anti-smoking adverts on TV and radios make it even more difficult for the smokers to escape the pressure to quit. As far as most non-smokers are concerned if the pressure will encourage many more smokers to quit and most importantly discourage the youth to light up then its worth it. The government agrees so much so that plans to remove tobacco products from shop counters have been proposed. If these plans go ahead it will be illegal for shopkeepers to place any tobacco products on counters where young customers will be able to see them.

Despite these encouraging figures others remain unconvinced. Behavioural psychologists and other independent bodies warn that these figures should be taken very lightly. They warn that not only are many quitters just as likely to return to smoking but also the general public attitude towards smoking/smokers, and the subsequent laws in tackling this issue may in the long run cause more harm than good. In order to understand the reason behind these warning it's worth firstly to explain

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